Nightmares
by Abby the Band Nerd
Summary: After being told about the incident that put her husband in jail, Cathrine Andrews can't seem to keep her mind off of the topic. Will her thoughts take her into a reality too unpleasant for her to face?


**Pre-Story Author's Note: The first scene is from the episode Zebras, kind of. It's the same scene, under… special circumstances. Read the whole story to get exactly what I mean. If you're wondering why the sequence and events and dialogue are off for the scene, it was 100 percent intentional. I know the ending scene of this episode, as I watched it about 20 times just to write this, and I know I changed it up quite a bit. Anyways, this is more writing about Cat and Dale. The cover picture is a picture of Cathrine that was drawn for me sometime last year. I own the character, not the artwork. Enjoy~**

_ Cat should have never been here in the first place. It seemed as if she'd just blinked and wound up crouched behind a desk on the cold floor of the Forensics lab. And there were voices. Not that any of the voices were distinct; she just heard sounds, but couldn't determine who was talking or what was being said. The room went silent for a moment, until a screech pierced the air._

_ "Drop your gun, dammit!" Her heart seemed to freeze somewhere in the middle of her throat. It was said that the first thing to leave your memories upon a person's prolonged absence was their voice, but this was a voice she would never forget. This was a voice that had been with her since the age of seven, and a voice that she never thought she'd stop hearing. This was the voice of the first and last person she would ever admit falling in love with, and the only person she had ever willed to commit herself to. The voice belonged to Dale Stuckey, who she'd married a few months ago, and she was frozen in fear because of it. "Liv, why did you show up? I didn't want to hurt you too…" there was a tone of sadness in his voice that Cat knew all too well. She'd been there for him in some of his hardest times, but this sadness seemed different in a way that she couldn't quite determine. She peered out around the corner, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on._

_ From her view, she didn't get the whole picture. But the picture she got was enough to stun her into breathlessness. The first thing she saw was the back of Dale's head. His body was leaned slightly forwards, and his arms were slanted inwards and pointed away from him. He was holding a weapon. The next thing she noticed was the taller figure of a woman standing in the shot-range of Dale's gun. She was faced away from him, and she slid a handgun across the surface of a table. She easily recognized this woman as Olivia Benson, who had essentially become her case partner during her time working with the SVU. Dale's body was shaking like a child's, but Olivia remained almost perfectly still. It had also occurred to her that there was a third figure seated in a chair in front of Olivia, but she was completely unaware of this third person's identity. _

_ "Then you don't have to, Dale." Her voice was soft and gentle, like she would use when coaxing a child into trusting her quickly. "You don't have to, because you've done a good job." Dale stopped shaking for a moment, and cocked his head with the curiosity of a small child._

_ "I d-did a good job..?" he asked with an innocent sense of wonder. He didn't seem to grasp what she was saying, as Elliot and Ryan constantly reprimanded him for his failures. _

_ "Yes. Don't you see what you've done?" She definitely had his interest now, and took it as an opportunity to brave a few steps towards him. "One of Harrison's followers managed to get in here. He got O'Halloran," she started, motioning towards the back of the room. Cat pulled her head back a bit so that she wouldn't be spotted, but looked off to her left. It took every ounce of her self-restraint not to scream. There was the body of a handsome young man collapsed on the ground with a red stain, presumably blood, seeping through his shirt. "And he got to Elliot too. And by the time you got here, it was too late. Think of the headlines—__SVU Hero Dies in the Line of Work.__ I could just see it now." Olivia stepped aside to reveal her partner Elliot, who was in quite a compromised position. He was bound to a metal chair with duct-tape fastened over his mouth, and beads of sweat that had dripped down his face. His shirt was torn in a few places, and blood stained the fabric over each rip. Cat's fear elevated more with each moment that passed by, and her having to be silent became increasingly more difficult. Had Dale done that to him?_

_ "I… I don't believe you. You're lying." Dale's gun had started to lower, but within a few seconds he'd raised it back up. _

_ "Well, once you take care of Elliot, I'll need a new partner. And when I don't have a partner and Cragen's concerned about finding me a new one…" she took another step towards Dale, but retracted her advance when he lifted the gun more._

_ "Y- You're a liar..! I don't believe you!" Dale's words came out in stutters, and his gun shook in his hands. Olivia stepped towards Elliot, turning to face him._

_ "Dale," she started, ripping the duct tape from off of Elliot's mouth. "I'm tired of taking Elliot's shit." She drew her hand back and brought it down with force across the side of Elliot's face. The male detective's head swung to the side from the impact. "You're worthless!" She hit him again._

"_You're a bitch, Olivia." Elliot's words drove her to hit him once again. Her strikes were getting forceful, and a trickle of blood ran down from his nose._

_ "You act like you're so talented, it sickens me! I'm the better detective, and you are an overrated piece of shit!" She hit him once more, and the blood flew off of his face a bit. Dale stomped a foot on the ground._

_ "You're a fucking liar! I don't believe you, Olivia!" Cat's heart seemed to stop for a brief moment. Dale appeared very ready to fire at Olivia, who Cat loved like a mother. Was this really happening? She tried to call out and distract them, hoping that Dale would recognize her in his rage. No words managed to escape her mouth, and she felt her heart sink. The three people she cherished the most were here, and two of them were in danger of their lives. One of them was holding a gun. "Liv… hit him again!" And so she did. _

_ "See Dale? It'll just be you and me soon enough," she spoke, stepping towards the blonde, who had just lowered his weapon. "Now, put that gun down. Put it down, and use that lovely knife you've got there to finish him off—it'll hurt more." Dale hesitated, and slid his gun across the table. He stooped over and picked up a knife that he'd dropped on the ground. He raised it up, placing it against Elliot's throat. Cat felt her pulse thud. The love of her life was seconds away from slaughtering the man who she'd grown to accept as her father, while Olivia encouraged it. _

_ "Let's finish him off now," Dale whispered as if he might have been overheard by others outside. For a brief moment, Cat thought she'd caught a glimpse of fear in Olivia's eyes, but it must have been her imagination. Olivia seemed dead-set on assisting Dale, despite the immorality and illegality of it all._

_ "Wait Dale," she interjected before he could slice Elliot's throat. The young blonde turned around to look at her. "Wait a minute. I want him to watch first." Dale gave her a look that suggested a lack of understanding._

_ "Watch..? Watch what? What do you mean?" Dale's voice squeaked as he managed the question, and Olivia was prepared to answer. She stepped towards him, and placed her hands on his shoulders. Dale looked about ready to squirm out of his skin at the touch, but didn't have the chance. Olivia had leaned down and placed her lips to his. Cat felt her stomach turn. She'd committed herself to Dale, and she'd trusted Olivia. With every time their lips parted only to meet again, she felt her heart drop lower. His hands worked their way up to Olivia's waist, and their bodies swayed with their kisses. Cat was teetering between pure disgust, fear, and disappointment. Either would have been a lack of intensity for how she was feeling. _

_ Olivia's eyes flickered open and met with Elliot's. The male detective gave a nod, and Olivia stuck her thumb up behind Dale's head. In a matter of seconds, Elliot had thrust his foot up between Dale's thighs, causing the smaller male to stagger back in pain from the impact of the kick. With the speed of a starving animal, Olivia grabbed her gun from the table and clocked Dale across the side of his head with it as hard as she possibly could._

_ The crack that resonated throughout the room was a sound that Cat would never be forgetting. Once the gun made contact with his skull, his head rotated too far to the side and a snap was produced from the separating bones in his neck._

_ He fell to the floor with a somewhat soft thud; his eyes were wide open in fear. It was a look that wouldn't ever be naturally leaving his face. The room went absolutely silent. Not even the sound of breathing could be heard from anybody there, and for a moment, Cat believed it to have just been her imagination. She loved Dale more than she knew it was possible to love another human being. He had been there for her as a companion in his childhood, and as a lover and a confidante as an adult. And there he was, sprawled across the floor with his neck bent at a completely unnatural angle and a terrified, pained look set in his eyes. Cat could feel herself choking on her own vomit, trying to hold it back so that Elliot and Olivia wouldn't hear her in the back of the room. Her body was shaking like a cowering dog, and her mind reeled in every direction. How was this possible? Had she really witnessed this? She took one look at Dale, and made her best effort to stifle a cry. She remembered him promising he'd never leave, but gone he was. Unable to put her mind in place, Cat took the only clear direction her brain could steer her._

_ She reached to her belt, patting along the sides until she finally managed to find her service weapon. Her fingers fumbled for the handle, and once she managed to grasp it, she couldn't stop herself. She put the barrel up to her temple with shaking hands, and readied her gun for fire. She couldn't even tell herself no, and pressed down on the trigger…_

* * *

Cat woke up out of breath in a cold sweat. Upon sitting up, her body was shaking to the point that she didn't even have the control to cover her chest with the comforter. Her nightmare had felt real beyond explanation. It was past the fear of _maybe_ not being able to wake up to a better reality; she hadn't even been aware that another reality existed. And upon returning to her better reality, Cat soon realized that the best part was missing. She turned over to seek comfort, and instead found empty sheets. In a panic, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted for Dale. She was slightly embarrassed at how childish she sounded, but she didn't mind all too much. She needed him there for her. When he didn't come in immediately, Cat's panic heightened, and she called for him again.

The moments of silence that preceded Dale's arrival were some of the most terrifying moments of Cat's life. He saw the fear in her eyes when he entered the room, and rushed over to make sure everything was okay. As soon as he got over to her, she threw her arms around his neck and froze for a moment.

"Where were you..?" her words heightened into a squeak at the end of her sentence. Dale planted a quick kiss on her forehead.

"I heard the faucet dripping and went out to fix it. I was in the kitchen when I heard you screaming. What happened, Cat?" The concern in his voice was present, and it helped ease the stunned detective who'd seemed to collapse in his arms.

"It was a _really_ bad dream. Like… I know now that it was just a dream, but when I was there…" she buried her head against the fabric of his t-shirt. "I imagined what it was like when you killed O'Halloran, but I was there. Olivia hit you with her gun and your neck snapped. And I couldn't do anything about it. I mean, I know that you didn't _actually_ die when you were in that situation, you're right here, but it felt so _real… _and I took my gun to my head and_…" _Cat didn't even need to finish her sentence for Dale to tighten his arms around her waist in an attempt to comfort her.

"Kitty, that's not going to happen, the worst physical injuries I got were a concussion and the almost-disability to reproduce—Elliot can kick with some real force. I mean, it still hurts to think about it!" This was a typical method of Dale's; apply comedy to a serious topic. Cat sighed and leaned back, finally taking the time to cover her upper body by pulling up the sheets and clutching them to her chest.

"I know. I just… Losing you once really sucked, we've had this conversation a million times. You were the first person I fell in love with, so of course losing you was difficult. If I lost you for good… I'd probably _honestly_ take my service gun to my head and blow my brains out," she explained, and Dale's eyes widened. "I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I had to go through losing you again. I wouldn't be strong enough to deal with the loneliness. I'm tougher than nails, but some things are still too much." He kissed her gently on the lips before lying down next to her.

"Don't say things like that, Cat. You make me worry, and that's not a good thing at all. Just know that I'm not gonna fuck up like that again. You don't have to worry about me gettin' beat to death like that. Remember, you got me out of _prison._ It's the least I can do to stay out of trouble," he spoke, and a light smile brushed over Cat's lips.

"I… guess that makes sense. You're kind of a goof Dale, always adding your childish charm to everything. And it helps just about every time." She rested with her body curled up next to his, laying her head and hands against his chest. "Promise me that you're not going to leave again tonight. I don't want to wake up like that again, and not have you here." He kissed the top of her head.

"Don't worry, I won't leave. And if the faucet starts dripping, we'll just call a plumber in the morning. You're more important than the apartment plumbing from Hell," he spoke softly, and she smiled at his words.

She pushed the thought of her nightmare away at the realization that Dale was still there, and he wouldn't be leaving any time soon. She knew she'd be waking up next to him for mornings to come, and with that thought, she managed to get to sleep.

**Author's Note: Okay, so I wrote more for Cat and Dale. This isn't nearly as cute as We Get a Redo (which I recommend you read if you haven't yet) but it's pretty decent. Cat's nightmare in the beginning was probably one of the most difficult things I've had to write. Even though it's almost canon with the episode, I had to build suspense in my own way. It was difficult, but I think I did okay. Thank you to the few people who helped me out with this piece (there are three of you, you should know who you are) it was really appreciated. Please read and review, I love hearing what you guys have to say (if you can say it in an appropriate manner.) **


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